'Hybrid' Partnerships: A New Way To Offer Partial Equity To Income Partners
It's a bit of creative compensation so that law firms can retain their most talented attorneys.
Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
It’s done for morale and to hold onto that talent. If firms give someone an equity interest, I think it’s a sign of the firm’s belief in the partner and probably indicates optimism about their future path at the firm. Particularly in the environment in the last five years of partners moving up and down the Am Law 100, I think firms really need to implement more strategies to hold onto their talent.
There are extraordinary lawyers, your steady-eddy subject matter experts who still have the rates and a book of business—do you pass on that person because they can’t get into the equity partnership? The non-equity tier is a great tool for recruiting. The hybrid version of that offers a little more.
— Avis Caravello, a California-based partner recruiter, in comments given to the American Lawyer on “hybrid” partnership status that’s becoming more popular among Biglaw firms. “They feel that they have got a seat at the big table, even if it’s a smaller stake,” said Dan Binstock, a partner recruiter with Garrison, of hybrid partnerships.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
